Get in the Offense

IT services in New York City provided by an MSP can enhance defenses. When it comes to computational technology, like prey in the animal kingdom, you need to be able to fight off hacking predators. There are black hats and white hats. Predators and prey. Here’s the thing: in the animal kingdom, what prey is best suited to ward off attackers? Certain frogs are poisonous. Certain sheep, buffalo, and other bovine creatures have horns. The rhino’s horn is well-known worldwide. Then you’ve got your badgers and your bears. Now, these latter animals are omnivores. Bears are basically at the top of the food-chain— think of them as multinational billion dollar companies. Meanwhile, badgers are about the size of a cat or a small dog, but they will ruin your day. They aren’t very predatory; they eat berries and roots— though they’ll scavenge, eat rodents, and swallow grubs. It’s easy to see how a badger could be prey for a bear. But a badger can fight off a bear— or even lions! A deer? Even with the horns, not so likely.

With your business, in ideal circumstances, you’re going to be a white hat in black hat waters. Now, you can be a deer or a badger. You can use swift, nimble programs designed to deftly evade capture and leap from the frying pan into the fire. Or you can be like a badger and be left alone by hackers because they know if they mess with you, they might get their nose bitten off, and oh isn’t that a nice gazelle over there? IT services in New York City which utilize offensive techniques are like martial artists who learn the craft of fighting for peace. Know your enemy so you can defend operations.

The next question is: how do you optimize your business such that it can offensively defend itself against hack attacks and other predatory cybercrime? Several tips spring to mind:

Take an inventory of hardware – determine what is and isn’t authorized

Do the same inventory exercise with software

Secure configurations (get outside the default)

Decrease vulnerabilities – make the target smaller

Software and Hardware Inventory

You’ve got to take stock of the hardware and software used throughout your business. Some employees are going to download third-party software to convert files, or even to pass the time when things are slow. Often, these contain hidden viral codes that can be used to compromise your system. So, vet software, and perhaps, provide employees with a checklist of software and hardware solutions which are approved beforehand. Be sure to continuously monitor both software and hardware usage to ensure that new items don’t compromise operations.

Secure Configurations

You’ve got to get out of the default modes on software. They’ll come with default passwords and hackers can break into systems through such wide-open vulnerabilities like a heated knife through melting butter.

Vulnerability Decrease

A smaller target is harder for a marksman to hit. So constantly probe for vulnerabilities and eradicate them as you find them.

Find Vetted Assistance

IT services in New York City through HOCS Consulting can help you secure configurations, properly record software (as well as hardware), and ultimately decrease your vulnerability as a cybercrime target. Contact us for solutions that will safeguard your systems.